Lax Linux security makes Windows better for London?
Officials at the London Borough of Newham have denied they had faked an interest in deploying Linux to force Microsoft to dramatically cut its licensing costs. Speaking at an event to launch a partnership between Newham and Microsoft, Richard Steel - Newham Council's head of ICT - insisted that a recent assessment of the various merits of Windows and open source had been fair and above board.
"We weren't playing around. We gave Linux a very serious look," Steel said. Microsoft has said that Newham can look forward to saving £3.2m over five years thanks to this new deal, under which it will deploy 12 different Microsoft products ranging from Office 2003 Professional to SQL Server 2000. Tablet PCs are also being trialled by the borough's social services arm.
